- Hitech racer opens 2025 Formula 2 account with P3 after leading in Bahrain
- Swede jumps from maiden F1 practice outing to score in both F2 races of the weekend
Dino Beganovic picked up his first podium of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign on a memorable weekend in Bahrain for the Swedish driver.
After conducting his first official outing in Formula 1 with Scuderia Ferrari HP in Friday’s Free Practice 1 session, Beganovic reset his focus on Formula 2 for the remainder of the Middle Eastern event, settling back into his Hitech machine to secure a top ten slot in qualifying just hours after his F1 run.
Thanks to the partial reverse-grid rules applied for the Sprint Race at each F2 meeting, Beganovic lined up on the front row for Saturday’s opening 23-lap encounter, maintaining his position in second place as the race settled in.
Just before half distance on lap 11, Beganovic then made a move for the lead at Turn 4, snatching the advantage and building a small gap to the chasing pack over the following laps.
However, a late safety car brought the field back together for a final five-lap shootout, with Beganovic losing the lead at the restart and slipping to second.
The Swede remained in contention and tried to reclaim the lead on the penultimate tour, but instead dropped back another two positions in a flurry of moves and eventually finished fourth. He was then promoted to third following the post-race disqualification of a fellow rival.
“It’s been a very special weekend here in Bahrain, getting my F1 practice debut and then jumping straight back into F2 qualifying,” says Dino Beganovic. “It was a quite difficult step to make, but it’s another important piece of experience that I can now draw on if the opportunity comes up again in the future.
“That considered, I was quite pleased to qualify in the top ten and to be in the mix for the weekend. I managed to get the lead in the Sprint Race and the pace was really strong out front, but then we were a bit unlucky with the safety car. I tried to get the lead back but couldn’t make it stick, but still, generally happy with that race and my own performance.”
Beganovic, who also graced the podium in Bahrain on his first weekend in Formula 3 back in 2023, then improved from ninth to seventh in Sunday’s Feature Race to complete a double points-haul weekend and move up to sixth in the F2 standings.
“The Feature Race was quite strong as well, moving up from ninth to seventh on a weekend where I’ve struggled a bit to overtake,” Dino Beganovic concludes. “That’s something we need to look into, trying to make sure we can get ourselves into a more attacking position. With what we had here, I think we did a solid job, good points in both races, and now I’m really looking forward to Jeddah next weekend.”
The FIA Formula 2 Championship resumes in just one week’s time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – one of just two all-new circuits for Beganovic on the 2025 calendar.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Rd. 2 – Bahrain (BHR)
– Race 1 (Sprint Race)
1: J. Martí (ESP), Campos Racing
2: R. Verschoor (NED), MP Motorsport
3: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech
– Race 2 (Feature Race)
1: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport
2: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech
3: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Invicta Racing
—
7: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
After 2/14 rounds
1: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Invicta Racing, 26 p.
2: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport, 25 p.
3: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech, 25 p.
4: J. Martí (ESP), Campos Racing, 23 p.
5: R. Verschoor (NED), MP Motorsport, 21 p.
—
6: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech, 12 p.
